The legal system of Honduras
A civil-law system operating under the 1982 Constitution, with constitutional review concentrated in the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court. Two questions dominate recent legal history: the status of presidential re-election, which the Supreme Court reinterpreted in 2015 despite an entrenched prohibition, and the ZEDE special economic zones, repealed by Congress in 2022 amid continuing investor arbitration.
Legal tradition
Honduras belongs to the civil law tradition. A civil-law system operating under the 1982 Constitution, with constitutional review concentrated in the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court. Two questions dominate recent legal history: the status of presidential re-election, which the Supreme Court reinterpreted in 2015 despite an entrenched prohibition, and the ZEDE special economic zones, repealed by Congress in 2022 amid continuing investor arbitration.
How power is divided
Unitary, with 18 departments and 298 municipalities. Municipal autonomy is constitutionally protected, and the Garifuna and Miskito communities hold collectively titled coastal land recognised in Inter-American Court judgments.
Where law comes from
- Constitution
- Supreme; ratified treaties prevail over ordinary statutes where they conflict.
- Statutes of the National Congress
- Single chamber of 128 deputies.
- Codes
- Civil Code 1906, Labour Code 1959, Criminal Code 2020, Civil Procedure Code 2007.
- Constitutional Chamber precedent
- Binding interpretation of the Constitution.
The legal profession
Practice requires membership of the Colegio de Abogados de Honduras. Lawyers are admitted as abogado and may obtain a separate notarial commission from the Supreme Court after five years of practice.
Law by topic in Honduras
- Civil ProcedureOral civil procedure since the 2010 CodeThe Código Procesal Civil (Decreto 211-2006), in force from 2010, replaced written procedure with oral hearings modelled on the Spanish Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil. It introduced concentrated evidence and a formal preliminary hearing.
- Immigration & Nationality2003 Migration Act with CA-4 movement and investor routesThe Ley de Migración y Extranjería of 2003 and its regulation govern entry and residence, administered by the Instituto Nacional de Migración. Honduras is a CA-4 member, so movement within the four northern states is visa-free.
- Employment & LabourLabour Code with regional minimum wagesThe Código del Trabajo of 1959 remains the governing statute, supplemented by the Ley Marco del Sistema de Protección Social. Minimum wages are set by enterprise size and sector, producing a matrix rather than a single national figure.
- Family LawFamily Code matters heard by specialised courtsThe Código de Familia of 1984 governs marriage, filiation and unión de hecho, with specialised Juzgados de Familia. Same-sex marriage is constitutionally prohibited by Article 112, and abortion is prohibited by a 2021 constitutional amendment requiring a supermajority to change.
- Business & CorporateCommercial Code companies with a one-stop registryThe Código de Comercio of 1950 governs company forms, with the sociedad anónima and the sociedad de responsabilidad limitada in general use. Registration runs through the Cámaras de Comercio, which operate the mercantile registry by delegation.
- Property & LandInstituto de la Propiedad registry and a coastal restrictionThe Instituto de la Propiedad administers a unified registry covering land, commerce and intellectual property. Foreigners face a constitutional restriction on land within 40 km of coastlines and borders, with a narrow urban-plot exception.
- Constitutional LawConstitutional Chamber review and entrenched articlesThe 1982 Constitution is enforced through the Sala de lo Constitucional of the Corte Suprema, which hears amparo, habeas corpus and unconstitutionality claims. A set of articles is declared unamendable, and their status was central to the 2009 constitutional crisis and the later ZEDE litigation.
- Criminal LawNew Penal Code since 2020 with adversarial procedureThe Código Procesal Penal of 1999 introduced adversarial oral trial, and a new Código Penal took effect in 2020, reducing several sentences and restructuring offence categories in a change that drew criticism for its treatment of corruption offences.
- Tax LawTerritorial income tax with a solidarity surchargeIncome tax is territorial, administered by the Servicio de Administración de Rentas under the 2016 Código Tributario. Corporate profit bears 25% plus a 5% aportación solidaria on income above a threshold, and there is an alternative minimum tax on gross revenue.
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